The halo that had been above Michaela’s head rose above the Fruit of Light. It darkened and transformed into disks of revolving rings of black, purple and white. Hundreds of rings encapsulated this disk.
An elongated, fluffy tail reached into the disk. The tip disappeared into the abyssal eye. It was the only place where the color remained a constant, pitch black where nothing existed.
Then, the tail twisted, and the disk expanded at such a speed that it spanned over hundreds of kilometers in mere seconds. Multiple mountain ranges were encapsulated by the nightmarish size of the disk.
It appeared like the eye of a being visiting this world from a place beyond theirs.
The sight mesmerized the world. Wars ceased as weapons cluttered the feet of armies. The wars of Frontier, Gnawer and even the Eternal War of the South came to an abrupt end.
“What have you done…?” Uriel uttered in defeat; her voice trepid as she stared into the center of the disk with trembling eyes. “You had Elysia’s tail… Or was that tail of yours never sealed? You had your own key to open the Gate. Hah… Nothing is waiting for you in there. Your body will cease to exist inside of Guf.”
Uriel’s instincts did not match her words. Her last wing trembled. The crimson feathers bristled to an internal warning that urged her to flee at once.
The Light intensified.
It signified a resonance.
A shape molded by pure Light began to form in the center of the Fruit of Light alongside the sheathed blade. It was unrecognizable, but it grew. The resonance emitted an invisible energy akin to an endless gale.
It blew Uriel’s hair back, forcing her to stare uncontested at the machinations of Light.
“No way… It can’t be… My miserable Creator…”
The sheathed sword of the Price of Paradise remained untouched despite the resonance. Its Light was not consumed, nor was it broken.
It only continued to transform.
“Of all the infinite possibilities, why did you choose to remain with her…? Michaela. Are you going to invoke the Fourth Shattering for the sake of your half-blooded daughter?”
The armies of Justica Arms and Time Reverberation immediately rose from their seated positions elsewhere. The injured and those within the houses of the city rushed out to see what the commotion was about, only to be met with the eye of what some believed to be a new Paradise Lost Corrupted. Much of the smoke that cluttered the skies was removed thanks to destroying the Hearts of the Memento Mori.
None of them could have ever imagined to be met with the sight of what seemed to be the end of the world.
However, an Aspiring Moon cleared the confusion after spending minutes comprehending the sight.
“It’s an Advent. The Advent of Attachment.”
“Caldera Industries must be happy to see what it looks like now. Of all the years I’ve spend facing Corrupted, I’ve not once witnessed a sight .”
“Could that be the Arbiter?” Simonia asked.
“We can only hope that is the case. Otherwise.” Galia brushed a hand across her pale, newfound arm. “We lose.”
Knalzark noticed it too.
The wars against the Impuritas on his front had died down considerably. The only entities left in his path were those who were already retreating.
His gaze remained fixed on the disk. It was a sight he had once seen before, but he never knew what it was. He had seen etches of that disk along the chassis of the Infecta Rot. What it meant was unclear, but he knew now that it must have been related to the Light.
“Why is that they seek it? Could it be an Advent? The Blessing does not tell us, but a vision as grand as this cannot be anything less. What was the Arbiter doing up there to create such a reason? Unless the same storm that overcame the Amalgam is happening again?”
A white-haired Angel recognized the phenomenon.
She froze on a mountain path located deep within Emvita. Forests stretched as far as the eye could see. The emerald leaves reflected the crimson glow of the Nexus as the skies turned to a soft shade of red.
The figure’s golden eyes widened at the sight as she spoke in a hushed, revering tone.
“The Door into GEN-09’s opening. G-Z7 has not yet been discovered. Was it the new iteration? It can’t be. Her tail can no longer open the Gate.”
She rapidly pressed down on her pale pocket watch.
“The purest emanation of Light. All compartments of creation are condensing into a singularity. A fruit bearing the miracles of all levels of reality to be eaten for the sake of one wish.”
Gabriella brought her pocket watch close to her chest. She could not tell why this Light had appeared, or why Guf had been opened. Regardless, her knowledge was vast.
The Wishgranter operated on an identical principle, but that power was a derivative of the Captured Star. What has appeared now, is no less than the same Light that emanated from the Captured Star itself.
“Finding G-Z7 was to stop precisely this from ever happening. The Gate must never be opened. No key must exist. No being can survive within Guf. The only person who can be desperate enough to reach in is…”
The pale light, different from the Light, stretched from the center of the disk to the cage containing the Light. It was a tether… no, an arm that seemingly tried to reach into Guf to bring out the one thing that could survive within.
“… A Soul. Arbiter. I see. Your wish, your desire, your resonance with the Light – It’s not like the crystallization of Light that created the Second Shattering. The distribution of Light during the Third Shattering. It’s a transformation akin to the Corruption, but through the transformative powers of the Light. An elevation of the highest order.”
Gabriella sank her face into a hand as she plopped herself down onto a rock. Comprehending this was far too difficult even for an Angel. It was not that the Light was being devoured or destroyed. Something different was happening, and because of it, Gabriella could not help but smile through her fingers.
“15 years ago Paradise was lost. Paradisio lived a cyclic death eons before. It was all to bring her back. Failures plagued you. But now…”
She groaned, trying to wipe her smile away. Instead, she gripped her pocket watch with all her strength as her reflection showed her eyes strain, as though on the verge of tears.
“… your nonsensical reign is over. Ours hasn’t ended. But with this at least one of us will have a happy conclusion to their chapter of sorrows. I await to see the fruition of your choice… Michaela.”
“What is that…?” A small, innocent yet gruff voice asked.
The White Wing looked up to see the bare feet of many women. They were all covered in hooded rags. Marks of trauma remained on what little was shown of their bodies. Through the hood, one could see strands of white and, uniquely, crimson hair.
“Be not afraid of the Light. The place you’ll soon find yourselves will shine as brightly as that star.”
The White Wing announced as she stared into the eyes of these women. They carried gazes of utter contempt, but not towards her. Rather, it was aimed towards those who had wronged them.
Gabriella smiled. She looked towards the crimson Nexus. Its crimson sheen was the same color as the eyes of these women.
And finally, the shapeless form of Light began to assume the form of a humanoid entity.